A Straight Talk on DebtA Straight Talk on Debt gives you the real deal on debt, straight from our employees and personal finance experts. Learn more about debt relief plans and how to be financially fit.

3577

Fri, Oct 24 2014

CareOne Debt DiscussionsThe employees of CareOne Services, Inc. understand debt, many have experienced their own personal debt challenges. Learn more about why the employees of CareOne understand what it is like to struggle financially.

We are about to enter THE HOLIDAY SEASON! For some of us, just the thought of the upcoming holiday season can send us into a deep, dark funk. Money is already tight, the budget is stretched to the limit and we feel more like the Grinch who stole Christmas rather than Jolly Old St. Nicholas. This is not a time of enjoyment for us but we participate anyway. I'm sure you have either seen or heard of the TV series, Doomsday Preppers. The series is devoted to showing us how to get ready for nearly any...

Some people (like my wife) live to host such gatherings, and some are happy to step aside and let someone else do it. But I think everyone can on some level agree that being the host is at least a little bit stressful.

It has been a tough year for us financially. I have been worried about Christmas shopping for months. It has just been this huge cloud over my head. It has always been a challenge, but this year is the worst.

Think about who is on your list, and what they are likely to want. Keep an eye out for sales and good deals. The reality is that holiday season sales aren't always that great. With a little effort, the help of daily deal sites, and online promo codes, you can get similar prices throughout the year.

A few weeks later we received our monthly statement from that creditor, which we expected to be zero. We were wrong. Even though we paid the full amount before the due date, our new statement had a balance of thirty-six cents.

For some people, such as sports enthusiasts or hobbyists, it's easier to answer. You've probably noticed that as you get older, activities that are fun for some people are no longer considered fun for you. Redefining fun is a vital part of frugality, too. You become more aware of the costs involved in your choices. Your community offers many free activities.

Now, I really WAS terrified of the mess I had gotten myself in to, and the glitz and glam of paying with credit had truly turned into a feeling of utter horror and despair. That fear and despair quelled my desire to ever use ANYTHING but cash for ANYTHING.

I don't think that will happen if we treat this like a diet. We cannot be really good while on the program and then go back to our old spending ways afterwards. I want to learn from our past so we are not doomed to repeat it!

I am so happy to no longer be a slave to the credit card industry and the high interest rates that are overwhelming so many people around the nation. It wasn't easy to give up swiping and convert to a cash-only existence but it was certainly very beneficial for me in the long run.

One of the biggest problems you are likely to run into has to do with emotional spending. Emotional spending is especially dangerous when you have access to a credit card. Because it's so easy to simply swipe your card, your vulnerable state of mind can lead to financial vulnerability.

I wanted to get a rough estimate as to how long I have to work to pay for the interest on my credit cards for the year. Adding up the interest I've paid on my credit cards so far in 2013, plus a projected amount for the rest of the year I calculated that I have work 7 days as a software engineer to pay for the interest on my credit cards.

It makes me think of playing hot potato only I knew I would always be the one who ended up with the hot potato. I was just trying to get food on the table. The bottom line is that at the end of the year we were just as deep in debt as we were at the beginning.

It's easy to get caught up in someone else's version of financial success. After all, we see advertisements that show us what we're "supposed" to buy. We look around the neighborhood and see certain types of cars. We look at decor on Pinterest and see what others' homes look like.